National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairman Priyank Kanungo visited Tiljala Police Station to inquire about the recent incident of alleged murder of a 7-year-old minor girl in Kolkata. , Photo Credit: ANI
Over the last two days, an ugly public spat has taken place between the chairpersons of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) in West Bengal.
NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanungo arrived in West Bengal to investigate the incidents of violence – a case in Gajol, Malda, where a child was sexually assaulted on March 21, and a case in Kolkata’s Tiljala, where a seven-year-old girl was killed.-year-old girl died after an alleged sexual assault.
On April 1, WBCPCR chairperson Mr. Kanungo and Sudeshna Roy were seen targeting each other in Gajole. The recriminations escalated in the presence of media persons, with the two presidents accusing each other of interference and non-cooperation.
“The incident had happened ten days ago, if the state commission wanted to probe, they could have come earlier. Yesterday also they did the same in Tiljala and are doing the same today,” said Mr. Kanungo, irked by the presence of the WBCPCR president in Malda.
Ms. Roy, on her part, accused Mr. Kanungo of “inciting his people against us”. Addressing the NCPCR chairman, he said, “You can’t talk to me like this.”
Similar plans were in place in Tiljala on 31 March, when representatives of the NCPCR, including Mr Kanungo, met the victim’s family. “On Friday, when we were talking to the parents of the child, suddenly the president of the WBCPCR came and said that there would be no investigation,” Mr. Kanungo said.
Mr. Kanungo also claimed that he was thrashed by police personnel at Tiljala police station. “Biswak Mukherjee (an officer at Tilzilla station) snatched and thrashed me. The policemen were surreptitiously recording the proceedings of the NCPCR investigation. They thrashed me for protesting,” he said. On April 1, the police officer was transferred from Tiljala police station.
While the central probe agencies and state agencies have been at loggerheads over the two cases, the public spat between the heads of the quasi-judicial bodies has hit a new low in the political and administrative circles of West Bengal.
Leader of the Opposition Shubhendu Adhikari raised the issue and tagged Governor CV Anand Bose and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, tweeting, “The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a statutory body established under the Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. .@NCPCR_ Chairperson was beaten up inside Tiljala police station. This is the law & order situation of WB Hon’ble @BengalGovernor&@HMOIndia.”
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen said allegations of attacks on children were coming from across the country and the BJP government was only targeting West Bengal in an attempt to “political vendetta”. He said that so far more than 150 central teams have been sent to the state.